Smoky Mountain Today

The Mountain Home VA Medical Center, subsidiary 621GI in Sevierville, Tennessee scheduled 5,136 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 4,965 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.7%) and 171 appointments (3.3%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported that wait times for new appointments at VA health care facilities were similar to or better than wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 that cautioned that the VA's data-tracking system only captures part of the appointment process and fails to account for the time that it takes the VA to enroll veterans in its health benefits program.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those who need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who do not have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
621	Mountain Home	64,172	61,835	2,337
621BY	Knoxville	19,676	19,246	430
621GI	Sevierville	5,136	4,965	171
621GJ	Bristol	4,331	4,252	79
621GG	Morristown	2,764	2,756	8
621GC	Norton	2,294	2,292	2
621GA	Rogersville	2,042	2,028	14
621GK	LaFollette	1,956	1,945	11
621QD	Knoxville	1,151	1,097	54
621QE	Knoxville	840	839	1
621QA	Jonesville	488	488	0
621QB	Marion	469	467	2
621QC	Vansant	259	259	0
621BU	Mountain Home	169	169	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration